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A STORY OF RESPECT

A STORY OF RESPECT

I grew up in a base town....I saw first hand all of the people called"grunts" and "jerks" and the havoc they wreaked not only in their homes, but on the base and in the town. I left that town thinking every marine wasa "grunt" and swearing that I would never marry one, let alone date one. Asmuch as I am ashamed to say it, I must admit that I harbored a hate formarines and all that they stood for.

I moved three thousand miles away from that hometown and that marine baseas soon as I was old enough to. In my new home I met a wonderful man withwhom I fell in love. He displayed all of the qualities that those "grunts"seemed to be missing, and none of the qualities that made those Marines"grunts". He was the last person I could ever see as a Marine. He is gentleand loving, He loves pets and children, and he seemed almost too good to betrue. He is one of the most honorable men I have ever met, so I should not have been surprised the day he told me that he wanted to be an officer inthe Marines.

But I was. I was surprised and angry. I was sure that those "horrible"people were going to ruin this man that I had come to love. I resented himand the Marines for doing this to me.

Yet, for some reason I stood by him through OCS and TBS.

I have learned more in the last year than I have learned in the last 25years of my life. I have learned a tremendous amount about myself and seensides of myself I never imagined....both good and bad. I want to impart to you what I have learned:

I have learned that I am not as diverse and understanding in my thinking asI had previously thought. I have come to realize that I am prejudiced,specifically against those men who make up the corp. I have learned that Iam far more selfish than I thought and that I am far more giving and malleable than I ever thought possible. I have learned that I am toooutspoken on things I don't know a lot about and that I am not outspokenenough on those issues on which I should speak up. I have learned that I ammuch weaker than I thought and I have learned that I have this amazingstrength that I never knew existed. I have learned that I learned that I ammore independent than I ever imagined yet I have also learned that it isokay to need others sometimes.

I have learned that the Marines are not "grunts". I have learned that thereis so much to admire these men and women for. I have learned that they havemore courage, honesty and loyalty than I ever imagined any one person orany million people could have.

The Marines taught not only their recruits teamwork and respect, but theyalso taught me it as well. I have learned a lot, but I have learned a miniscule amount, compared to what so many men and women have learned intheir process to become Marines and officers.

I admit that I am not willing to give a part of my life to this country inthe way that these men and women have. I do not have the courage to sufficiently challenge myself to carry the honor of being a Marine on my shoulders, nor do I have the stamina to receive the emotional and physical challenges these men and women face everyday to become stronger and better Marines.

But I have the courage to admit that I was wrong.

So to every Marine out there, and to every Marine's spouse who standsbeside him or her, I send you my profuse apologies.

Never again will I make such harsh assumptions about any individual orgroup. You deserve my admiration and you deserve the respect of all whoknow you.

So to all of you out there who have made unkind remarks about the Corp andthose men and women in it. Remember, that it takes all kinds to make upthis world, but no one holds themselves more responsible for those in it than the Marine Corp. No one deserves more respect than these people whohave so much courage and honor.

To my loving fiancé, Michael, thank you for teaching me so much aboutmyself. To the Marines, thank you for teaching me so much about the world.

contributed by Stacia [This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]

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